Nevada pension fund shows double-digit growth
CARSON CITY — Nevada’s public employee pension fund grew by double digits in the fiscal year that ended June 30, the agency said Wednesday.
The preliminary 2017 fiscal year end return for the Public Employees’ Retirement System was 11.8 percent. The market value of the fund’s assets as of June 30 was $38.5 billion.
The return, given in response to a Review-Journal inquiry, is a big improvement over the 2016 fiscal year, which saw a return of 2.3 percent. The fund at the end of fiscal year 2016 was worth $34.9 billion. The agency has a target rate of an 8 percent annual rate of return on its investments over time.
The return on PERS investments was 4.2 percent in the 2015 fiscal year. The 2014 fiscal year saw a return of 17.6 percent.
The funding ratio of the plan will be updated at the November meeting of the board overseeing the plan, which covers nearly all government employees in Nevada. The overall funded ratio increased to 74.1 percent in 2016 from 73.2 percent in the prior year.
There were just over 105,000 active members of PERS, and 54,000 retired and disabled members, as of June 30, 2016.
Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @seanw801 on Twitter.
Public Employees' Retirement System
The PERS system was established by the Nevada Legislature in 1947. By July 1, 1949, the system had approximately 3,000 members and 64 retirees. At the end of fiscal year 2016, the system had 202 participating employers, 105,167 active members, and 61,180 benefit recipients.
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